“On a Mish” #89 Sweet White Powder (Part Two). Balmacaan Saddle Camp. Hakatere Conservation Area. 27.6.2018. I often get strange looks from my friends and family when I tell them I am going camping during the chilly months of winter. Obviously, I have no trouble with the cold, and thanks to modern clothing I haven’t ever had a situation when I have run out of clothing to put on and still felt cold. With a couple of layers of merino on and wrapped up in my sleeping bag, I haven’t faced a night too cold yet. Waking up to see the frost sparkling on the inside of your tent (and sometimes there has been frost on my sleeping bag cover!) is an exciting way to start the day!
As evening turned into night, I reluctantly snuck into my tent so I could retreat to the warmth of my sleeping bag. The shadows had started the cool down long before the sun disappeared, and now the small valley was an icebox. I was very grateful to have an awesome sleeping bag and the shelter of the tent as I drifted off to sleep imagining the snow outside was three times as deep as it was!
Early-ish the next morning I was up in time to see the amber glow on a snow-covered Mahaanui / Mt Harper(1829m) from the early light of the dawn sun. My time shredding the sweet white powder was coming to an end, and I could see a weather change in the clouds high above me. So, after a quick breakfast I packed up camp and crunched my way down the valley in the frosted snow.
As I began my hike, I could see the wind blowing spindrift off the summits of the mountains, so I knew a nor’west storm was brewing and it was time to head home. I could still see some of the lines my snowboard had cut into the snow higher up on Mahaanui / Mt Harper(1829m), but now much more rock and tussock were starting to appear. A lot of the powder snow from the day before had disappeared as I descended lower down the valley, so I knew I had made the most of it while it (the snow) was still there.
With a pack much lighter due to all of the drink and food I carried in being consumed, I hiked across the Lake Clearwater Basin towards Lake Camp and the end of my adventure. This was a mission I would like to repeat one day with at least twice as much of that sweet white powder / snow. I’m positive that the effort of carrying my snowboard, along with the weight of all my camping gear and food, would make a lot more sense! For now, I’ll take the adventure I had and enjoy the fact that for an afternoon I had a hill covered in sweet white powder all to myself, and it was AWESOME!
